Forgotten Meeting, Unforgotten Promise
by S. T. Nickolian
Summary: Sakura has a friend who is supposed to be dead, so how can he save her now? Slight HakuSaku, SasuSaku


Forgotten Meeting, Unforgotten Promise

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing, sad, ain't it?

"Watch out, Sakura-chan!" The pink-haired kunoichi whirled around to block a kunai as it flew towards her head. She smiled a quick thanks to Naruto before turning to slam her fist in the ground, creating a crater and knocking her opponent off balance.

They were being attacked by Mist and Stone, though Tsunade expected Orochimaru to ultimately be behind it. Sakura, for some reason, seemed to be a major target to the enemy. _Maybe it's because I'm Tsunade-shishou's student. _Kakashi had tried to help her, but was pulled away by several Mist nin that he was still dispatching. He still hadn't opened his Sharingan, something about wanting to conserve his chakre, but he was still holding his own against at least ten nin. Naruto was also a major target. _Why not? He's got the Kyuubi inside him, and is currently calling on the fox's limitless chakre. _Sakura smiled fondly at her brother figure before turning her attention to the battle. A red aura was around him, giving him a pair of translucent ears and a tail.

"Sakura!" Kakashi, Naruto, and the rest of the rookie nine called out to her in horror. Her eyes widened and she turned around to face a large Stone nin about to crush her. It was too late for her to block or dodge, so she squeezed her eyes shut and waited.

There was a gurgling sound above her, and she felt herself being lifted into the air. Her eyes snapped open to see the Stone nin below, drowning in her own blood. She looked up at her savior and saw not one, but two Sharingan eyes. "Sasuke?..."

He looked down at her and smirked the oh so famous Uchiha smirk that she had always remembered. Landing softly on the ground, away from the battle, he gently set her down on her feet. She stared at his face, trying to make sure that it was really him. "Are you… really here?" She couldn't believe that he would come back after five years, let alone save her.

"Aa. I'm sorry you were targeted; Orochimaru must be getting desperate." He looked away from her shocked face and back in the direction of the battle. "I left him a year ago and went to train on my own. I would've come back, but that snake is still hell-bent on having me as his next body, so he's been trying to find ways to bring me out of hiding." He turned to her again and smirked a little awkwardly. "He finally found a way that works; attacking my friends."

Sakura could feel the tears starting to form, but held them back so she wouldn't cry in front of him. She smiled up at him though. "I'm glad you're back." She wanted to tell him how she felt, again, but something held her back from saying anything unless he started it; fear probably. Fear of rejection, again.

The Uchiha smiled, small, but it was still there, further shocking her. "Do you still love me, even after all this?" The question stunned her, and it seemed to shock him too, since he was looking away with an extremely light blush on his cheeks. He wouldn't answer the questioning look she was giving him, and instead asked a question of his own. "Well?"

She looked at the ground and smiled weakly. "Of course… I never stopped." She let her bangs shadow her eyes, not wanting to see his reaction, but she never expected him to make her.

The kunoichi felt his fingers under her chin, lifting her face to see his. He was smiling, a little wider than the last time. "I'd hoped you would say that." He pulled her towards him, touching her lips with his in a brief kiss. "Because I want to restore my clan more than I want to kill Itachi. I can't think of anyone better than the girl who convinced me to come home."

All the kunoichi could do was stand there, staring at him. She had to be dreaming! Sasuke would never do this, yet here he was, standing before her, willingly offering her the life that she had dreamed of since she realized that she loved him. Now knowing what else to do, she skirted around the issue for a few moments. "How did I convince you to come home?"

He smirked and sat down at the base of a tree behind him, motioning for her to sit as well. As she did, he began to speak. "When you tried to get me to stay that night five years ago, you said that you would betray Konoha too, just to be with me." She winced slightly as he brought up the painful memory of waking up on a park bench. "I knew then that your feelings for me weren't just some petty crush, so I vowed that I would come back one day to make sure that your confession wasn't in vain."

He looked up at her and smirked again. "So, here I am, back again."

Sakura smiled at him and stood. "You know I'd still come with you again if you allowed, but there's a battle going on , and I still have to make sure Naruto and Hinata live long enough for me to get them together."

The Uchiha shook his head, smirking wider and stood beside her. They began jumping through the trees back to the battle.

Arriving, they found their old friends surrounded. Sakura looked worried, but Sasuke merely smirked at his best friend. "You need help, dope?" Everyone turned their heads sharply to where Sasuke stood slightly in front of the pink-haired kunoichi protectively. "Yo." He mimicked Kakashi perfectly, hand wave and all.

"Sasuke-teme!" Though the Kyuubi vessel used his old insult to address him, they were both smiling at each other. Sakura smiled, happy to see Team 7 back again. The Stone and Mist came out of their shock and attacked bother parties. "You'd better not hold me back, teme, and protect Sakura-chan!"

"I plan to."

And the battle raged.

* * *

Sasuke drop-kicked a Stone nin and threw a kunai into his jugular. "Sasuke!" He looked around to face Naruto, who was looking at him terrified. "Sasuke, we can't find her!"

The Uchiha paled and darted after his friend. The battle was dying down, mostly because their opponents were retreating. With the appearance of the Uchiha and the kunoichi, the Konoha nins' morale rose greatly and they got a second wind, pushing back the enemy, though Sakura was still targeted, despite all attempts to protect her.

Sasuke cursed himself for not keeping a better eye on her. He finally told her that he's back for her and she is taken away. He caught a flicker of her chakre and called to Naruto before running towards it. He saw a red tinge to the Kyuubi vessel's chakre and smirked; whoever had the nerve to take her would be in for a lot of pain.

Naruto burst through a line of trees before him. "Sakura-chan!" Sasuke stayed behind a tree and peaked around. "Let her go!"

Naruto stood in front of three Mist and two Stone nins, a Mist nin holding Sakura, unconscious, bridal-style in his arms. Sasuke felt anger rising up inside of him. _How dare he touch her!_

"Come with us peacefully, and she won't be harmed." The Mist that stood in the middle of the group, appearing to be the leader, spoke. "The two of you will be good enough bait for Uchiha-sama to return to Orochimaru-sama." His voice was low and emotionless, though he spat out Orochimaru's name and said his own with respect. The Uchiha scowled at the thought of him going anywhere _near_ Sound unless it was to kill the snake Sannin once and for all. He quickly got his emotions under control, stoic mask in place again.

Sasuke stepped out of the forest and stared emotionlessly at the Mist nin, who began to shift under the Sharingan-user's stare. "You won't harm either of them, but I won't be going with you."

Before the leader was able to speak, the one holding Sakura dropped her legs, only to drive a kunai through her abdomen. Her mouth opened in a silent scream. The Mist smirked and twisted the kunai. The leader sensed the rising anger of both possible enemies and swiftly killed his partner before he could damage the girl anymore. The other three nin seemed unfazed, though a Stone hesitated before walking over to prop the kunoichi into a sitting position against him.

The leader turned to face Sasuke again, only to see the light of the chidori and to feel the slight wind of the Rasengan. He took a slight step back, getting into a position to either fight or run.

The Uchiha was livid. How dare they harm her, let alone right in front of him! He raised the chidori straight to his side, face emotionless. "I gave you a chance, now you die." As he charged, he noticed Naruto off to his right. _Good, he doesn't have a chance of getting hit by the chidori._

He quickly engaged the leader in a fight while Naruto fought a Mist and Stone. He had to admit, the apparent leader was leader for a reason; he was a good fighter and managed to dodge the chidori, which was a feat in itself.

As they fought, none of them noticed the sadistic smirk growing on the face of Sakura's captor. With a poof of smoke, the girl was in Kabuto's arms.

"If you want her back, Sasuke-kun, you'll have to find her before I allow Orochimaru-sama to experiment on her." No one heard it, except a hidden figure in the shadows who slipped away easily and silently.

* * *

Kabuto was running through the forest, careful not to continue to hurt Sakura; he couldn't have her dying yet. He paused at the edge of a pond, not too far away from where he had left the two boys to fight his temporary, soon-to-be-dead allies. He glanced out at the entire pond, curious as to why it was nearly all frozen over. He looked down at Sakura before carefully walking onto the ice, curiosity taking hold.

He made his way out to the middle, careful not to step on the weak ice. "Good; your curiosity brought you out here." Kabuto immediately stopped and looked around, searching for the voice.

Mist surrounded them as Sakura groggily opened her eyes, reminding her of the Zabuza incident. "You walked into my trap, Kabuto of Sound. You may leave the girl there and leave unharmed, but continue to hold her captive, and I will do all in my power to withhold you until her companions arrive."

Sakura coughed weakly. "Haku?..." She looked around, still dazed since she didn't seem to notice her captor.

A little of the mist faded, revealing mirrors of ice surrounding them. "I'm glad to see you are well, Sakura-chan." A boy dressed in Mist's ANBU cloak was standing in between two mirrors. Sakura would have thought he was a girl from his feminine features, but she knew him.

She smiled at him while noticing that she was in Kabuto's arms for the first time. _Well, this isn't an exactly pleasant way to wake up, not to mention unexpected._ Nonetheless, she began to struggler against the demented medic. He scowled and dropped her to the ice while throwing a kunai at the ice boy.

Haku merely smiled and dodged, going into an ice mirror in the process. "Demonic Ice Mirrors." He became reflected in all of them, putting Kabuto at a severe disadvantage. "This is the technique I used on Naruto-san and Sasuke-san almost six years ago, nearly killing them both; I'm sure you'll see the advantages of this bloodline limit."

All the reflections of the smiling Haku raised a hand, each holding a long needle made of solid ice and threw it. Kabuto tried to see where it would truly be coming from and was surprised to see one actually come from each. Though he managed to keep the needles from piercing anything fatal, he soon found several embedded in his chest and back.

"I'm impressed, but that will not stop me." Still smiling, Haku made needles rain down on the Sound nin.

The kunoichi watched the Mist work in fascination, though how he was there, she would never know. She had been at his burial and laid flowers on his grave, how was he protecting her now? Not that she was complaining, merely curious.

Her eyelids grew heavy as she fought to stay awake. As she lost the hopeless battle, she wondered, _How is Haku's aim so good that a needle hasn't even come near me?

* * *

_

"Sakura-chan, you need to wake up." Haku watched in amusement as she attempted to open her eyes. "You don't have to see me, just listen."

At seeing her feeble nod, he smiled, even if she couldn't see it. "First, I am dead." Knowing that she would protest, he continued. "I made you a promise, that day we met in Wave, and I will keep it."

Flashback

Sakura was walking from the bridge Tazuna was working on to his house, humming quietly. Sasuke had come to take her place at protecting the old man, claiming that she needed rest too.

She stopped along the path and gazed at a cherry covered in the pale pink color of her namesake, though lighter. She smiled happily and watched the petals fall slowly.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" A voice asked from a short distance behind her. She turned to see a boy in a dark cloak standing a few feet away, his gaze on the tree that she had previously been watching. A reed hat (like the Akatsuki's without the ribbons, I don't know what they're called) rested on his head, nearly entirely concealing the Mist forehead protector he wore.

The kunoichi smiled and returned to watching the tree. "Aa, though it's paler than the ones back home." She sensed him look at her, but didn't turn back to him. "The ones back home match my hair, so Mom and Dad called me Sakura."

The boy smiled. "I can understand that. Personally, I like the darker ones better." Sakura started and looked over her shoulder at him. He was smiling at her. "Maybe it's just because I don't see them often."

He walked towards her and stood just a foot behind her, still smiling. "What is a Konoha kunoichi doing this far away from home?" Sakura studied him to see any ill will in his eyes, but she only saw honest curiosity, so she smiled and turned to completely face him.

"I'm on a mission with my team. Now what is a Mist nin doing in Wave Country?" Seeing his guarded look, she laughed. "I told you why I'm here; it's your turn."

He smiled again. "I'm on a mission as well, though it's probably different from yours." She smiled at him then watched the tree again.

They spent the next couple hours sitting beneath the tree, just talking. Sakura enjoyed talking to him, but then they heard a call. "Sakura-chan!"

"Sakura!"

"Sakura-san!"

"Oi! Sakura!"

"Oh! I forgot about them! Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, Tazuna-san, and Sasuke-kun are looking for me now." She stood up and smiled apologetically at the boy, before starting off toward her teammates.

The boy grabbed her wrist and pulled her back, close to him. "Haku. I'll protect you when your team can't." Sakura stood still in shock, blushing slightly, as his voice came close to her ear softly. She felt him press something smooth in her hand before disappearing in a cool breeze.

She stood still for several minutes while her team and Tazuna ran up to her. "Sakura-chan, are you alright?"

She shook her head quickly to clear it. "Hai; I'm fine." She smiled at them but closed her eyes to keep them from seeing the confusion there.

Sasuke noticed something dangling from her hand and focused on it. It was a chain, seemingly made of glass, or ice. "What is that?"

"Eh?" Sakura looked down and opened her hand. In it laid a glass pendant, tinted ice blue and in the shape of a tear. "Oh, a friend gave me this." She smiled and placed it around her neck, where it laid on her collarbone as if made to be there. The Uchiha felt a surge of jealousy and possessiveness rise in him as he saw her trace the shape of the pendant fondly.

Kakashi glanced from his female student to the quietest and grinned slightly. He looked to the tree she was under and noticed the few petals in her hair. "You know, I like the darker ones better."

Sakura looked to her sensei as he unknowingly mimicked Haku's earlier words. Suddenly, she smiled brightly. "Aa. I do too!"

End Flashback

Sakura managed to open her eyes to look into Haku's. He was smiling again, just like before.

"I will protect you when you team can't," he vowed again. He looked over in the direction of a broken mirror. "Sumimasen; he got away. He risked death to make it to the edge and used some medical jutsu to break the ice."

Sakura coughed, but smiled anyway. "That's alright; let him tell Orochimaru about my guardian." Haku smiled again and kissed her forehead lightly.

"Be happy with him; he's good for you." Sakura smiled up at him, knowing that he wished he was the one is Sasuke's place, thought he would never jeopardize her happiness by saying so out loud. His eyes drifted down to her collarbone, where his tear rested. "As long as you wear that, I won't be far away."

Sakura's eyes widened as he began to fade, still smiling affectionately at her. She smiled back at him again as she fell unconscious, not knowing that the mirrors were melting harmlessly around her.

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto came upon Sakura's form laying one a frozen pond, though Naruto had to point out that the pond couldn't be frozen, it was summer. Sasuke rushed to her, making sure she was still alive while his friend kept watch. Her jade eyes opened and she smiled fondly at him. He smiled back as he carefully picked her up.

As she leaned her head on his chest, he heard her whisper, "Arigatou… I love you, Sasuke."

"I know; I love you too." His voice was too soft for the Kyuubi vessel to hear, but judging by the smile on her face, she did.

* * *

Haku watched, smiling. "I'm glad you're happy. Too bad I didn't live to be with you, Sakura-chan." He didn't regret dying to protect the person most dear to him, but he did regret not being able to see Sakura more.

"Haku."

"Hai; coming, Zabuza-san." Taking a last glance down at the couple, the ice master turned to follow his mentor through the heavens, though he would return to watch her often.

* * *

AN: I know, definitely not my best, (in my opinion, we'll see what you guys think.) I apologize. I wanted to do another SasuSaku, but I was thinking about Haku a lot lately and a 'What if?' came to mind. I've been have a lot of conflicting thoughts on this one, so forgive me if it's terrible, and I hope you enjoyed it.

Again, gomen ne, and please review!


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